I love me some RedRock Micro gear, but unfortunately i’m just one of those poor souls who can’t afford even their entry level stuff. As seen in the image below, this is just one bundle in the line up of RedRock Micro’s Nano rigs called the Running Man. Pretty solid piece of gear that doesn’t look quite overkill. Light weight, sturdy, sets up fast, and packs down small. Nice little stabilizer for the frequent traveler. You can find the Running Man rig here: Redrock Micro nano – RunningMan

Having a few spare parts around the studio, just decided to mount the Calumet Mini Tripod / Handle to a Manfrotto 361 Shoulder Brace for Monopods. The bearing on the shoulder support spins freely, but by adding a handle under the camera, you can keep it steady. It’s also handy having the handle break out into a Tripod to rest the gear down (gotcha on that one RedRock..JK).

Would be an interesting travel brace for a smaller camera like the GH1, GH2, Sony NEX, or A55. I don’t know..all for fun…

I have loaded it with a T2i, Battery Grip, Z96 (on camera shoe), a Zoom H1 (on the flash bracket I put on mine), a 577 Quick Release and a LCDVF. It will get heavy with all that stuff but works on short shoots. With just the T2i it’s incredibly light. If you wanted to go super light you could swap out the Calumet Minipod for a smaller handle. The option to set the rig down on a tripod is really nice though.

An LCDVF is definitely key to add a third point of contact with your body for extra stability.

If the Manfrotto 361 could lock into positions this setup would be even better. Still, the motion of the shoulder brace hasn’t been an issue and can actually provide a little mobility. Also, you don’t really put it on your shoulder. It’s best to wedge it somewhere between your chest and armpit. Then you just adjust the extension to get the LCDVF aligned with your eye.

To me this setup makes more sense than those giant shoulder rigs that weigh a ton and take up lots of space.

I’ve been stalking out this website for weeks now! I bought the manfrotto 361 brace today and instead picked up an actual monopod as I will probably use one in my shoots when I get a ball/tilt head to put on here! The monopod is the manfrotto 790B and is sooooo light weight. Once the camera is removed it folds so neatly onto the front of my lowepro runner bag this really is an ideal setup for my and my 60D right now! Cant go wrong with this guys! Also, if you put your camera strap behind your head/neck you can lean back onto it a bit and the resistance will keep the camera ultra steady. Ill put up some example videos soon!

Gosh I just now saw this! great idea. One caveat though. The Zacuto’s and Cinivate shoulder rigs are ultra sturdy and don’t let your body transfer those micro shafts that come with handheld shooting holding the camera. this seems kind of flimsy and subject to some of these shakes… any one have any footage with this or experience to prove me wrong?

Everything except the “testimonial” (lady with red shirt and white hair) was shot with that brace and support. I am by no means a pro and some shots are better than others, but for the size it can’t be beat.